581 Discovering a mysterious slave

Vincent looked around and noticed all the people they passed looking at them as if they were performing a show.

The view of one man being followed by three maids and two noble women is an uncommon sight. The little blue fox being carried by an elf noblewoman garnered a lot of attention on her as well.

It took a lot of time for the people passing by to understand Vincent, Lilith, and Jun Ye Rim were wearing the academy uniform. The reason was simple.

It was a very rare occurrence to see a student roam the city on Sunday, more over on a typical weekday like today. Furthermore, a student walking with their uniform meant they were most likely expelled, and their family felt ashamed to send a carriage to pick them up.

Lupa was getting angry to receive many gazes with different intentions, and her happy mood was becoming ruined. She hurried over to Vincent and requested to teach them a lesson.

Vincent sighed and looked at Lupa. Her gaze alone was showing signs of the desire to fight.

“Glare back at them if you want, but no fighting. Let’s enjoy our walk in the snow since not all places in the academy had snow.” Vincent suggested while thinking how great the barrier in the academy was.

“Fine. I will forget about the weaklings and have fun going for a walk.”

Lupa slowed her pace and walked with Ester to enjoy sightseeing. Even though they passed on their current road with the carriage multiple times, walking on foot felt like a new experience.

.....

Vincent looked around and felt secretly happy to be targeted by envious gazes. He led the group of women with a grin on his face.

[Look at you walking proudly with a group of women following after you. By the grin on your face, it is obvious you like the attention you are receiving. Isn’t that right, harem lord? Hehe.]

-I wonder.- Vincent vaguely responded.

“Jun Ye Rim. Is anything the matter?” Asked Lilith after noticing Jun Ye Rim frown and give the impression of being taken by surprise.

“Maybe Kazumi said something naughty like usual.” Commented Ester.

“It is possible.” Added Iris.

Jun Ye Rim nodded with a light blush on her cheeks. She was still finding it difficult to comprehend how Ester, Lupa, Iris, and Lilith had become so accustomed to Kazumi without being able to hear her words at will.

The time kept flowing, and the attention-grabbing group walked the cold streets of Lusterfall city at their own pace. They stopped to window shop and enjoy their current free time together. It was a great way to take their minds off the judgment by combat.

After deciding to walk multiple streets they had never passed before, Kazumi felt the strange energy of mana. She promptly left Vincent’s body after thinking they were going to be attacked.

Vincent stopped and asked, “Huh? Kazumi, what is wrong?”

Jun Ye Rim became nervous about having Ester, Lupa, Iris, Lilith, and Plowing look at her to know what was happening. “Kazumi is looking for something.” She briefly explained.

[I thought it was an attack at first, but after taking a good look at the corner, I can see it was a man wearing ordinary clothes beating slaves in a corner.]

“Slaves? Does that mean he could be an illegal slave trader?” Questioned Vincent out loud to let Ester, Lupa, Iris, Lilith, and Plow understand why they stopped.

[I can feel a powerful mana fluctuation. I think there could there be a powerful slave. How about we take a look?]

Vincent turned around and asked, “Girls, might we take a different route back home because Kazumi said she could sense a powerful slave?”

It took a few seconds for everyone, apart from Jun Ye Rim, to agree to take a detour if it meant gaining a powerful ally to help them in the upcoming judgment by combat.

“Then it is settled. We will check if they are illegal slave traders and if they have powerful slaves. Later we will report the location to Russo.” Vincent said after the voting was done and their decision was chosen.

“Remember to remain vigilant, everyone. We might be on the turf of a shady family and their thugs.” Warned Lilith. She had learned enough from the ten years of seeing shady people visiting her home and how shady and greedy people can be.

After nodding and opening their eyes wide for any sign of trouble, the group followed Kazumi’s directions and arrived at an empty alleyway.

“Huh? There is no one...” Vincent was saying this when a man dressed in black cautiously approached. Five men dressed in black approached from behind them at the same time.

“State your business...” The man at the front was saying before recognizing the uniform.

“What are noble people looking for at a corner like this place?” He said while changing his tune.

“We are here to check on a fine selection of slaves.” Vincent pointed with his head at Iris and continued, “As you can see, I am a connoisseur for fine women.”

The man looked at Iris, frowning at him. He saw the maid outfit’s collar fabric and believed Iris was a slave.

“A gray goblin as a slave is sure a rare find, but we will need to know if you have the money for our products.” He said while rubbing his thumb and index fingers together as a sign of showing me your money.

Vincent summoned a bag of coins. He tossed the bag a couple of times to produce a metallic clanging tune before storing the bag of coins.

The man snapped his fingers, and the five men surrounding them left. “Follow me, esteemed guests. Coin is always welcome here, hehe.”

The man started walking. Vincent looked behind him and nodded at the girls. Shortly, they followed the man down the alleyway.

“Is Jun Jun sacred? Plow will protect Jun Jun. Plow promises.” *Pho*

Jun Ye Rim shook her head and denied feeling scared. “I felt cold, that’s all.” She murmured an obvious excuse.

On the other hand, Ester, Lupa, Iris, and even Lilith weren’t afraid of what could happen at any moment. Instead, they remained vigilant to prepare for a fight while following the shady man in black.

A few minutes later, their destination in a shady place welcomed them. It was a door surrounded by a putrid smell. Lupa had to cover her nose while Plow buried her nose in Jun Ye Rim’s arm.

The shady man glanced at Iris and asked Vincent, “Just before we enter, my lord, are you perhaps interested in selling your gray goblin slave for an astronomical price?”

“Thank you for valuing my woman more than the last guy.” Vincent looked at Iris and continued with a warm smile, “She is too much interesting to sell. A treasure should be kept. That is my motto, haha.”

Lupa noticed how the shady man wasn’t interested in her. “My mate, I don’t like this human. He is not seeing see how great I am. Can I beat him?”

historical

“Ahem. Please don’t mind her.” Vincent said while acting apologetic for letting Lupa’s actions get overlooked.

Vincent winked at Ester to take care of Lupa before she caused a problem. Ester nodded and pulled Lupa beside her.

“How about we enter? It is cold outside, and I do not wish to spend an entire day here.” Vincent said, hoping to change the subject and cause the shady man to ignore Lupa’s statement to attack him.

The shady man looked at Lupa. He sighed and overlooked Lupa’s behavior. He knocked on the door with an agreed pattern, and the door opened after the sound of multiple locks sounded.

“Please follow me.” The shady man said while heading inside.

The more they walked in the dark, damp corridor, the more doors with barred windows with slaves inside they could see.

Vincent walked with a frown and his clenched fists in his pockets. He had to keep calm and report everything to Russo and Ganni. They had a big job taking care of this place.

Ester recalled the little time she had become a slave. Her heart raced anxiously at the thought of living in such conditions if Vincent didn’t save her.

Lupa walked without showing many signs of distress, other than covering her nose as the smell was about to make her puke.

Iris walked the corridor with a horrified expression. She saw a lot of goblins in the prison-like room with horrible conditions. It made her realize how badly she would be treated if she was ever captured before meeting Vincent.

Lilith didn’t fare well, either. Walking the corridor cause her to recall the horrible experiences she had to live with. After almost completely forgetting about her past, Lilith was once again reminded of how much the victims suffer because of the greed of others.

The last pair were Jun Ye Rim and Plow.

After Jun Ye Rim looked at a room, she placed her head forward and tried her hardest not to look at another room again. She could feel a lot of negative energy, and she thought she saw a vengeful spirit staying in an empty room.

On the other hand, Plow shoved her head in Jun Ye Rim’s arm and didn’t try to take a peek once. The little fox was afraid to remember her days in a cage and forgotten because of her body.

After what felt like an eternity, the shady man opened a different-looking door at the side of the corridor. “Inside here, please. ” He said while blocking the rest of the corridor and standing beside the door.